


Teatime

by blank beat (one_off_mind)



Series: Danganronpa: Monarchy AU [1]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls
Genre: Alternate Universe, Everyone Is Alive (For Now), Monaca is a princess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:20:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28880862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/one_off_mind/pseuds/blank%20beat
Summary: Princess Monaca Towa enjoys a nice cup of tea, receives some troubling news, and makes a resolution.
Series: Danganronpa: Monarchy AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2118045
Kudos: 1





	Teatime

**Author's Note:**

> The beginning of an AU I put together! I actually wrote this first part in January of 2020, but just now finished fixing it up and outlining the rest of the story. Most of it will be written in one-shot type bits like this, following various different characters. At first it was supposed to just include UDG characters, but as time went on I figured it'd be best to include characters from all the games, and even some from the anime and manga. 
> 
> I look forward to continuing this! Enjoy :D

Every afternoon, at three o’clock, Princess Monaca Towa would enjoy one of her family’s vast assortment of teas out in the gardens. It was a simple yet highly enjoyable part of her daily routine, an hour of her day spent sitting atop an intricately embroidered quilt on the grass, admiring the blooming roses and watching the birds go by. Monaca simply couldn’t imagine a day without her three o’clock teatimes. 

The one thing – or person, rather – that always seemed to make the hour so much more enjoyable for the princess was her closest friend,  Kotoko Utsugi. Normally, Monaca wouldn’t dream of befriending anyone who wasn’t of an explicit noble status, but it was practically impossible, foolish even, to resist  Kotoko’s innocent, childlike charm. Besides, she was well-mannered enough and her father was on good terms with the king, so it was hardly an issue. 

The girl would often stop by to visit (her presence had become so routine that the castle servants began leaving the doors unlocked around the approximate time of her arrival) and skip straight through to the gardens with the boundless energy Monaca grew accustomed to, always seemingly ready with a list of nonsensical rambles to spew to her like a never-ending fountain of random knowledge and mindless personal opinions on everyday things. 

“...but it always seemed strange to me that mice could run so much faster than I can, even though my legs are longer!”  Kotoko exclaimed, taking a moment to breathe and sip at her tea. “I suppose they don’t need to wear large dresses like I do. If they did, though, things would probably be much different.” 

As usual, Monaca nodded, a patient smile on her face. She didn’t usually interrupt  Kotoko in the middle of one of her rants, but today she had a bit of a pressing topic on her mind that she felt needed to be addressed. A muscle in her cheek twitched as she kept up the winning smile, hoping to goodness above that  Kotoko was just about finished. 

Thankfully, it seemed she was. “I swear, one of these days I’ll just make a big old dress for a mouse to wear, and then we’ll see which of us is faster.” She grumbled. “Anyways, how are you, Monaca?”

“Monaca is feeling quite fine, thank you.” Monaca politely replied, her grin widening. “However, there’s a little something bothering me.” 

“What could be bothering you?”

Monaca hummed. “You see, I’ve been thinking about a dear friend of mine lately. She’s from another kingdom, where there seem to be a lot of fights and rebellious outbursts occurring as of late. I heard the king mention it this morning.” 

Kotoko gasped. “Oh, that is troubling. Are you afraid something like that might happen here as well?” 

“ Well, no, not particularly. In fact, Monaca is quite certain that everything will remain peaceful here for as long as Papa is king. It’s over there that I find myself concerned abo—”

Monaca cut herself off suddenly as she heard a silent rustling in the nearby bushes. She and  Kotoko both froze in place, not even daring to look at each other. A few long, agonizingly slow seconds passed before finally, the creature in the bushes revealed itself, tumbling out as though it had no idea where or what it even was. 

Kotoko frowned, standing up and smoothing out her dress. “ Jataro ! I told you about coming into Miss Monaca’s garden so suddenly! Geeze, how did you even get inside? I doubt anyone would just let you in, you’re such a bug!”

Jataro was hardly even paying attention, his good eye taking in the sights of the garden for a moment as he muttered to himself. “Wow, everything’s so pretty... I just want to set it all on fire and watch it burn into tiny little ashes I can hold in my fist and do whatever I want with.”

Now, in the case of  Jataro Kemuri , he and the princess hadn’t technically become friends. Not officially, at least. In fact, saying they were friends at all was a bit of a stretch.  Jataro was simply a strange, blond-haired boy that somehow managed to sneak past the castle staff and into the garden way too often for his own good. When asked about it, he doesn’t even seem to realize he’s on royal property at all.  Kotoko had personally taken to occasionally calling him a “garden pirate” due to the black eyepatch that sat over his right eye, and the fact that he always stole the tulips when they first bloomed. 

This time, it was Monaca’s turn to speak. “ Jataro , is something the matter? You don’t usually come to visit the garden unless something has happened.”

The boy’s expression brightened somewhat, as though he had just remembered something very important to him. “Oh yeah, I was actually sent here to tell you something super important. What was it again…?” 

“Sent by who? Please try to remember.” There was an uncharacteristic edge growing on Monaca’s voice, but she hardly cared to cover it up at the moment. 

“Ah! Your father sent me to ask you to come inside.” He finally said after a bit of a pause, seemingly quite proud of himself for having managed to pass on such a simple message. “That’s all, I think.” 

“I see. Thank you,  Jataro .” Monaca replied, her mouth starting to turn downwards into a frown. “ Kotoko ? Would you be a dear and see him out for Monaca?” 

Kotoko made an unpleasant face at the thought, but nodded regardless, impatiently grabbing  Jataro by the ear and dragging him through one of the gates leading out.  Monaca watched them go for a short while before heading off herself. The time was three-seventeen. Far too early to be ending teatime, especially when Monaca needed the time more than ever. 

* * *

Monaca didn’t speak when she entered the throne room. She had learned not to; nothing she had to say would be considered noteworthy in her current position. So, hands folded neatly in front of her, the princess took her place before the king, her father. Her brother was already there, standing as still and silent as she herself was a mere few feet away from her. There they stood in wait, prepared for the unimpressive King Tokuichi Towa to give the first word. Monaca could take a guess at what was on his mind, though. 

After all, she had been thinking about it as well. 

“This morning, I received a bit of troubling information that I feel should be passed on to the two of you, as the future rulers of this kingdom.” He  started, his voice solemn. “It’s in regards to our closest neighbor and business partner, Queen Junko of the Enoshima Kingdom...”

There was a short silence as the king paused, his words hanging in the air with the sharp intensity of a guillotine blade, ready to come down at any given moment to deliver the final, killing blow. 

“...I’ve received word there has been a coup d'état. Queen Junko Enoshima has been dethroned and publicly executed. Her sister,  Mukuro Ikusaba, is nowhere to be found, but she is currently wanted in each of the allied kingdoms.” 

The king’s voice faded in and out in Monaca’s ears, the young princess only catching small words and phrases as he spoke, and processing little to none of it. 

Junko Enoshima,  _ the Queen Junko Enoshima _ , the long-time ruler of the famed “Kingdom of Despair”, had fallen. Monaca had suspected and feared that such a fate would soon befall her dear friend and mentor, the woman who had stayed by Monaca’s side when even her own family wouldn’t do so, but to hear her worst anxieties come to fruition was far from easy to bear. 

It seemed her despair was growing visible on her expression, as her father asked, “What’s the matter, Monaca? You seem particularly shaken over the news.” 

Monaca inhaled a tiny breath, grounding herself and her senses once more. No, it would be no good to show her feelings here and now. “I... Monaca is just saddened by the loss of such an influential trade partner and ally.” She said, slowly at first, but soon growing confidence as she continued. “Might Monaca ask what will become of her kingdom now that she has been... dethroned?” 

From the corner of her eye, Monaca could see  Haiji glaring at her, but she paid him no mind as their father responded. “I see. I didn’t receive much info as far as such matters are concerned, however the kingdom is currently under military rule until a new leader is coronated. It is believed that the primary leader of the uprising, a village boy called Makoto Naegi, will be crowned as there are no other heirs, but for now it is too soon to say.” Tokuichi sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he sat back in his throne. “I will keep you alerted to any developments... both of you. For now, please proceed with business as usual. Trade and business matters will continue as usual, for the time being. You are both dismissed.” 

With a curt nod, Monaca curtsied before taking her leave, walking down the long pathway and pushing her way through the large double doors. As she left, she couldn’t help but notice her brother lingering behind, likely with the intention of discussing something with the king while she wasn’t there. She wasn’t concerned with such matters, unable to bring herself to care about anything more than the troubling news she had just received. 

As the door swung open into the exterior hallway, two figures crashed to the ground, seemingly having been  leaned up against the door before she opened it. 

“Masaru, Nagisa? What are you two doing outside the throne room?” 

The latter-mentioned of the two boys stood up, brushing off his pants and allowing the other who had collapsed on top of him to crash to the floor. “I arrived here not long ago on business with my father, but he was taking a while so I figured I’d come find you.” Nagisa explained, then roughly yanking the other boy up from his sprawled out position. “That’s when I saw  _ Masaru _ here listening in. I was telling him how it was impolite to eavesdrop on important matters, and then you came out.” 

Despite the news she’d just received and the  _ irritating situation _ she now had to deal with, Monaca put on a bright smile, replying, “Aww! That’s my Nagisa! Always looking out for Monaca and making sure everyone’s on their best behavior, meow!” 

Nagisa Shingetsu, the son of a well-respected nobleman and scholar who was quite popular amongst the medical and science community, wasn’t an uncommon sight around the castle. He often accompanied his father on business, and this meant standing before the king many times himself. By now, Nagisa himself was almost every bit as well-known and respected in the castle as his father, making him quite the valuable companion to have at one’s side. 

Masaru Daimon, however, was nothing more than a squire, and quite the clumsy one at that. Despite having big dreams and the energy to achieve them, Masaru seemed to be spending more time hunting down Monaca and displaying foolish feats of strength than actually finishing any of his work. 

“Ow,  owwww !! Nagisa, not so rough!” Masaru whined, trapped in Nagisa’s harsh, unrelenting grip. “I was just curious,  y’know ? What’s this I hear about the Enoshima kingdom being overthrown or  somethin ’? Isn’t that the one right next to— ow!”

“That’s nothing of your concern.” Nagisa snapped, his grip only tightening. “If what he says he heard is true, though, that is quite troubling. Monaca, is everything okay?”

Monaca blinked, her smile unwavering.  _ Why that little—! Rather, that  _ nosey  _ eavesdropper! “ _ Everything is perfectly fine, meow! Monaca would like to ask that Masaru stops listening in on royal matters, however, lest Monaca stop feeling so jealous as to allow him to continue his squire work.”

Upon hearing this, Masaru instantly ceased his whining and fidgeting, his eyes growing large as saucers. “Wait, wait! Don’t do that! I promise I’ll stop eavesdropping, I promiiise!” 

Monaca started down the hallway, stopping suddenly after a few steps. “Oh! Nagisa, did you happen to see  Kotoko on your way in?” 

Nagisa nodded. “As a matter of fact, I did. She was chasing  Jataro around the courtyard.”

Monaca held back a sigh. “Please tell her I won’t be available for teatime tomorrow afternoon.”

“Yes, your highness.” 

With that, Monaca continued on her way, leaving Masaru and Nagisa. She wasn’t much in the mood to attend to such childish matters as those they often seemed to get into. 

* * *

Monaca retreated straight into her bedroom, a rather large room for such a small girl, and all it contained was a closet, a single large canopy bed, piled with pillows, and a set of drawers. In the bottommost drawer, locked up tight with a key carefully hidden inside one of her many pillows, was a seemingly endless collection of pictures of Queen Enoshima – the  _ late _ Queen Enoshima. Sketches, paintings, even a swatch she had cut away from a topiary, all compiled in a single extensive collection. 

Pulling from the drawer a simple embroidery she herself had made, one depicting her and Junko standing side-by-side, Monaca fell back onto her bed, holding the piece of fabric close to her chest. It was then, and only then, that the young princess allowed her tears to fall, crying quietly but openly. All the same, her smile remained, beaming wide and bright and trembling through the waterfall of tears. 

“What a horrible, awful way to go out!” Monaca cried, “Bested by the very citizens she once ruled, such despair, befitting of the Queen of Despair herself!” And if Monaca despaired this much over the situation, just imagine how Junko herself must have felt! “Overthrown by her own kingdom, by that... by that  _ traitor  _ Mr. Makoto Naegi.” To think they were even considering making him  _ king  _ after all that, too. 

This surely would not go unnoticed. Despite being somewhat lesser in size than the rest of the four allied kingdoms, the Enoshima kingdom had a certain presence and influence that made it impossible to ignore. Soon everyone would hear the news: Queen Junko Enoshima is dead. Princess  Mukuro Ikusaba is missing. Some would celebrate. Fewer would despair just as Monaca herself. All would feel the change. 

How unfair! Monaca almost didn’t want to believe that Junko had really been defeated, after all these years of ruling with an iron fist. Who would continue her work now? Surely not Makoto, Monaca thought, no, surely, she would have to do it herself. It was her duty to continue Junko’s work and to show Mr. Makoto Naegi the worst despair imaginable. 


End file.
